Gun in car at worksite

[Axxe55]

The castle Doctrine, nor any law makes your vehicle an extension of your car.

The castle Doctrine, nor any law makes your vehicle an extension of your car.

I stand corrected on the Castle Law in Texas. Your vehicle is included as an extension of the home, if the vehicle is occupied. The big factor is "occupied" that I missed.

 

[txinvestigator]

Texas is right to work state. If your boss comes to work in bad mood and decides he doesn't like you that day and fires you, well, you're fired.

Many times, if you read the employee handbooks, company policies are there to give a company a legitimate cause and reason to fire people. Many times, a violation of a company policy states, "...up to and including, termination of employment, for violation of this rule or policy."

So if they did discover you had a firearm locked inside your vehicle, would you get fired? All depends on too many variables. But short answer is, yes they can.

For many years, I operated under the principle of doing what I did and keeping my mouth shut. IOW's, I was the only person that knew I carried weapons in my locked vehicle. I have never not carried weapons in my vehicles except in very certain situations.

Your first sentence, while correct, addresses union's not terminations. Stopped reading there

 

[txinvestigator]

I stand corrected on the Castle Law in Texas. Your vehicle is included as an extension of the home, if the vehicle is occupied. The big factor is "occupied" that I missed.

That too is incorrect. It is never an "extension" of your home. It is simply another location where certain laws apply.

Based on your reasoning one could just as easily state that your home is an extension of your car.

 

[txinvestigator]

And exactly what other reason would the vast majority of people carrying a firearm in their vehicle be carrying for in the first place?

Self defense. DUH!

Your attempt to cover your errors is not well thought out. You are wrong, just get over it.

 

[txinvestigator]

I was under the impression that Castle Doctrine was what allowed non licensed folk to carry in their cars as long as the gun was out of sight?

That is the Motorist protection act. Castle Doctrine refers to the use of force laws in chapter 9

 

[Axxe55]

Your attempt to cover your errors is not well thought out. You are wrong, just get over it.

You do things your way, and I'll do them my way. Last I checked, I don't require your's or anyone else's permission to post an opinion.

 

[mongoose]

That policy could be a violation of state law, depending on YOUR specific circumstance.

Mississippi is an at will State. Men were fired by their Co. for possessing firearms in their vehicle against Co policy but legal in the State. Mississippi courts decided the men could sue for wrongful termination.

 

[txinvestigator]

You do things your way, and I'll do them my way. Last I checked, I don't require your's or anyone else's permission to post an opinion.

It would be a great benefit to people who read these threads if you would stop posting bad information, but as long as you continue to do it I am going to point it out and correct you.

 

[txinvestigator]

Mississippi is an at will State. Men were fired by their Co. for possessing firearms in their vehicle against Co policy but legal in the State. Mississippi courts decided the men could sue for wrongful termination.

Sorry, didn't realize you were referring a Mississippi employer

 

[Renegade]

You do things your way, and I'll do them my way. Last I checked, I don't require your's or anyone else's permission to post an opinion.

And I and others will be here to put out when you are wrong (which is pretty often) so that others on the forum do not get bad info.

 

[mongoose]

Sorry, didn't realize you were referring a Mississippi employer

Courts love presidencies. Texas is also an at will state.....just sayin.

 

[Axxe55]

And I and others will be here to put out when you are wrong (which is pretty often) so that others on the forum do not get bad info.

Just out of curiosity, where did you get your law degree from Renegade?

 

[Renegade]

Just out of curiosity, where did you get your law degree from Renegade?

William & Mary, and yourself?

 

[Axxe55]

It would be a great benefit to people who read these threads if you would stop posting bad information, but as long as you continue to do it I am going to point it out and correct you.

I can afford to be wrong, because I have an attorney on retainer for legal matters. I let him worry about the legal details that I don't understand. Exactly why I told the OP to consult an attorney, because I'm not one.

Maybe if you are lucky, you can drum up some business for your practice.

 

[Sasquatch]

9 pages.

Not going to give legal advise. Will tell you this from my personal experience.

I worked for a small business for 10+ years. We had a "no weapons" policy - blanket BS to appease the insurance company. I had my LTC for years prior to going to work there. We got issued new polo shirts at one point, boss noticed a 'bulge' - knew what it was. "asked" to leave it at home from now on. I smiled & nodded, and continued to carry. He *could* have fired me for it. In fact he talked with another employee about it (small company, pretty family-like in many ways, but this would technically be a no-no because that employee was not a supervisor or manager or in any way involved in the situation) - the other employee pointed out that if he pushed the "no guns" issue, and something happened where I got hurt or killed because I wasn't allowed to be armed, he would wind up getting sued by me or my estate - and he realized it was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario then decided that the risk of me potentially needing to defend myself was greater than the chance I was going to hurt someone else or otherwise cause problems with the gun.

This was a towing company I worked for - I worked long, irregular hours. I worked all over the metro area we were based in, including really shitty neighborhoods. I worked nights, weekends. I traveled thru 3 different states fairly regularly and dealt with fuckin' weirdos on a regular basis, plus I often had large sums of cash on me. Those things all increased the chance of dangerous encounters. One of the few times I've had to draw my firearm and point it at someone was while towing.

I knew having the gun put me at risk of becoming unemployed. To me, personally, that was an acceptable risk. I can always find other work, but I only get one life. You have to make the decision for you. You know the potential consequences if you're "caught" with a firearm against company policy. You also know the potential consequences if you're caught in a deadly situation and you're unarmed.

 

[Axxe55]

William & Mary, and yourself?

Well good for you. Never once said I had a law degree, and in my very first post on this thread pointed that out quite clearly.

I'm fairly certain with your sparkling personality that your practice is thriving though.

 

[Axxe55]

9 pages.

Not going to give legal advise. Will tell you this from my personal experience.

I worked for a small business for 10+ years. We had a "no weapons" policy - blanket BS to appease the insurance company. I had my LTC for years prior to going to work there. We got issued new polo shirts at one point, boss noticed a 'bulge' - knew what it was. "asked" to leave it at home from now on. I smiled & nodded, and continued to carry. He *could* have fired me for it. In fact he talked with another employee about it (small company, pretty family-like in many ways, but this would technically be a no-no because that employee was not a supervisor or manager or in any way involved in the situation) - the other employee pointed out that if he pushed the "no guns" issue, and something happened where I got hurt or killed because I wasn't allowed to be armed, he would wind up getting sued by me or my estate - and he realized it was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario then decided that the risk of me potentially needing to defend myself was greater than the chance I was going to hurt someone else or otherwise cause problems with the gun.

This was a towing company I worked for - I worked long, irregular hours. I worked all over the metro area we were based in, including really shitty neighborhoods. I worked nights, weekends. I traveled thru 3 different states fairly regularly and dealt with fuckin' weirdos on a regular basis, plus I often had large sums of cash on me. Those things all increased the chance of dangerous encounters. One of the few times I've had to draw my firearm and point it at someone was while towing.

I knew having the gun put me at risk of becoming unemployed. To me, personally, that was an acceptable risk. I can always find other work, but I only get one life. You have to make the decision for you. You know the potential consequences if you're "caught" with a firearm against company policy. You also know the potential consequences if you're caught in a deadly situation and you're unarmed.

Exactly!

Worst case scenario if an employer has a No Guns policy as part of company polices is they can fire you for violating that policy.

Worst case scenario if attacked and unarmed to defend yourself, you don't go home and end up in a body bag.

I won't advise anyone what to do, or not to do, and everyone has to make their own choices in regards to this. I made my choices many years ago of what I do.

 

[TheDan]

Would you be willing to lose your job over it?

Absolutely.

Of course if you're one of the 20% of employees that do half the work, they tend to look the other way on a lot of stuff.

 

[Txhillbilly]

As someone that worked in the Oil & Gas industry for a long time, there's not a well or lease location that allows firearms on the property. It is what it is.
Now, When you're talking about a parking lot for a business it's different.

It isn't considered Private Property unless you have to pass through a guarded entrance, or an electronically controlled gate that restricts access to the property.

If anyone can drive off a public road into the parking lot without having to pass through a guarded entrance or other controlled means to enter the property, it's Public Property by the way Texas law is.

I've personally dealt with this situation several times over the years working for companies that had No Firearms policies. I never lost a job over it, and they never were able to search my vehicle's. A couple of them called the local police / sheriff to come out. They were told that since the parking lots were not secured, they were considered Public property by law.

 

[mongoose]

As someone that worked in the Oil & Gas industry for a long time, there's not a well or lease location that allows firearms on the property. It is what it is.
Now, When you're talking about a parking lot for a business it's different.

It isn't considered Private Property unless you have to pass through a guarded entrance, or an electronically controlled gate that restricts access to the property.

If anyone can drive off a public road into the parking lot without having to pass through a guarded entrance or other controlled means to enter the property, it's Public Property by the way Texas law is.

I've personally dealt with this situation several times over the years working for companies that had No Firearms policies. I never lost a job over it, and they never were able to search my vehicle's. A couple of them called the local police / sheriff to come out. They were told that since the parking lots were not secured, they were considered Public property by law.

Read Labor Code section 52.061. It does not matter that the parking lot is private or not. If the lot is provided by the employer and you are in your private vehicle, you may possess a legal firearm and ammunition in your locked vehicle if concealed.